Journey Through North Carolina – Part 19 ~ By Tom and Audrey ~

August 23, 2017

Hello and welcome to part 19 of our journey through North Carolina.

Today’s travels took us through Concord, NC where we enjoyed watching some anglers fishing in the churning waters at the Oxford Hydro Station. It became obvious this was a good fishing spot as one of the fishermen held up a trophy catch displaying what he was having for dinner that night.

From here it was off to enjoy a relaxing picnic lunch at Lake Hickory Scuba and Marina as rain loomed in the background. At one point our smart phones began dinging that there was a tornado warning for the area. Now this certainly got our attention since we hadn’t experienced such a storm warning like this in our travels. I guess the folks in the southern states look at it much like we do snow storms in the north and that is “yup, a storm is coming” and not get shook. We began doing an internet search only to discover that there was a major storm up and down the entire east coast. I guess we should have been paying more attention to the weather but you know how that goes. Half the time you just don’t know whether to believe the weather people or not. None the less the sky was incredible with it’s dark and ominous clouds. We thought for a moment there the rapture was occurring. It’s funny the thoughts that go through your mind at times like this. Here we sit in a huge Walmart parking lot with a potential tornado about to happen and our first thought was, I wonder if Walmart will let us bring Emma inside if the tornado strikes? I mean it’s a legitimate question that dog lovers across the land would ask, right?

Before long it was time to call it a day and Midway Campground in Statesville was the place for us.

Well this is it for today. We hope you come back and see how the trip unfolds as we share more of the USA Through Our Eyes. Until then be safe.

But, I used to think weather forecasts in USA is taken seriously because they are generally correct. I developed this notion because Indians students who lives in US for higher studies tends to portray this to the Indians in India!

Thankfully it blew over us but did hear it hit a few towns over. Maybe it was our clicking of our heals together chanting “there is no place like home” that caused it to blow over, lol. Glad we didn’t have to test Walmart’s policy on stowing away.

There are now those meteorologists claiming tornadoes may not actually exist as the phenomena portrayed in the past-that in truth, they are merely the rapid movement of major storm fronts and do not manifest from the atmosphere in spiraling funnels.

This is interesting to note! We hadn’t heard that before. It was interesting to be there at the moment especially not having encountered things like that. We were about to click our sandals together and start chanting “there is no place like home”, lol.

Its great having you along with us Karen. We know what you mean about sometimes not being able to catch all the post. Sometimes there just isn’t enough day left, lol. We understand and are appreciative when you stop in to talk!!!

We sure do know what you mean!!!!! We have learned to never say never. The twist and turns of life are what keeps us looking up and growing in character. We must admit however there are times when I don’t want anymore character, lol.

Ive never thought about that! They probably would (: Wethermen are wrong a lot; they once said a 95% chance of rain and there was not a cloud in the sky! Its never 100% because they are afraid of being wrong/sued for bad weather but we all know it happens. SO happy to read from you again!

Yes, thankfully weather people get it wrong especially when its in our favor. We kinda are the type that just look up and let what is happening dictate what the weather is but in tornado situations forewarning is always good.

Your question about the tornado and Emma at the Walmart is TOTALLY justified. I’m glad you didn’t need to find out the answer, but am betting (hoping?!) it would have been yes. Take care of yourselves, ya hear? 🙂

I’m sure Walmart would have let Emma come in for shelter. Walmart does make some poor decisions as a corporation but I think the staff in that location would have let her in. Safe travels going forward!

I agree. I know when they were preparing for a hurricane in Florida it was very difficult as sometimes the barn structures get destroyed and the horses get loose. So those who could not evacuate would paint their phone number on the sides of the horse in case they did get loose and could later be rescued. I hope I never have to face that!

Oh my gosh that would be devastating to have to leave a pet family member behind. I don’t know if I would be able to leave an Emma or Biasini behind. They become family and are family. They give so much. Do you find that the horses sense the bad storms coming? The reason we ask is we experienced the eclipse in TN on the 21 and Emma reacted when the sun was eclipsed. We noticed a change in the ants and in the bugs you generally only hear at night.

I have not had much experience with horses and impending weather other than thunderstorms and not anything like a hurricane or tornado. Horses are fine in the rain and just turn their backs to the wind and sort of hunker down. For thunderstorms the horses are all brought in as soon as the barn staff see a warning on their cell phones. If I lived year round in FL ( I am only there in the winter) I would evacuate Biasini to somewhere out of the path of a hurricane. If that was impossible then I would stay with him as best I could. Last year friends said that when the hurricane was approaching and everyone was very nervous the horses in the barn were all quite calm. As it turned out the hurricane made landfall quite a bit farther north than expected and missed the town where the barn is located. So maybe the horses knew something!

Thanks Kathrin for being with us on our adventures. It was an interesting moment for sure. We laughed as we saw the clouds whirling around thinking we were about to have a Wizard of Oz experience, lol.

Beautiful photos from the fishing on Oxford Hydro Station, the man has a very big fish. Maybe the clouds where frightning to see, and it was a good plan to stay by Walmart, and I think it was oké for Emma. Warm greetings, Ann.

You better believe if a tornado hit that Emma IS going inside! Ha! Don’t make me call a Walmart and get crazy! ha! I know I am lucky that my Max is so small he doesn’t get noticed as easily but trust me that he would be safe right along with me 🙂 Yes, I think I’m the same and don’t pay attention much to tornado warnings as I’ve been in 2 and know to listen for the freight train!

You make us smile Liz. Your sense of humor is priceless. So you have experienced these Wizard of Oz experiences of tornados. It was a first for us and its funny you mention the “freight train” sound because we found ourselves really listening for it too. So you’ve been in 2!!!!! Wow that had to be a memorable moment!!!!!! So glad you survived!!!! Max is blessed having you care for him like you do.

Our particular area of Kansas doesn’t have as many tornado warnings as other parts, but they still get my attention. The locals, not so much. And I would like to think that Emma would be more than welcome in Walmart in such a situation. If not, one more reason for me to shop elsewhere! 😉

Wow, being from Kansas Deborah Ann we would think you would see these. Its funny because amongst the many thoughts going through our minds at that time were, oh my God this is what Dorothy experienced, lol. Yes, who could resist Emma girl or at least we were hopeful they wouldn’t.

The two times I’ve been closest to a tornado…upstate New York and Duluth, Minnesota. The one in Schoharie, New York went down the main street and did a lot of damage to some historical homes. Very old trees were sheared off. Here in Kansas, we’ve had some around us, but haven’t touched down near us. So very thankful for that! And yes, I always think of Dorothy and red slippers when I think of Kansas!

Wasn’t that a whopper. He was very proud of it and we could see why. We could see from afar that he had a huge one on the line but by the time we got closer he had it reeled in. We hope for that moment to capture the beginning to end catch. So glad having you along with us and keeping our dreams fueled.

Ah! A tornado warning!! I remember before we had cellphones and we were traveling in a car and there was a warning on the radio for a tornado in a specific county…and we had no idea what county we were in!
Thank you for sharing your journey…and thank you for sharing your kindness at my blog. Hope you have a day filled with light and love ❤

This is so great to hear from you Lorrie. So you can understand our wonder. This was all new to us and as we watched the locals carrying on like it was just another day was puzzling, lol. This was new to us and we had some funny thoughts of the Wizard of Oz happening before our very eyes. Sounds like you’ve been there done that, lol. We love these new experiences we are discovering from being on the road. We love your blog and are always uplifted by it!!!!

That is so sweet of you to say….I am so grateful that anything I could share would have that effect on you!!
Yes…I can’t believe my sister moved to KANSAS!!! They have a shelter in the ground. When she first moved there she panicked every time the sirens went off! Now she seems to be what I would call…a “little complacent”…just like your locals!
So happy you are having such wonderful experiences during your travels…I hope to be more present and follow along.
Sweet blessings ❤

You always have nuggets for us to hold on too so please keep sharing. We can understand what you said about the locals because as we watched they were just going about their routines with such casualness. All the time we’re clicking our heals together, lol. We know what you mean about running out of day to keep up on blogs and its nice knowing you’re out there and with us.